Rafael Inchauspe Méndez, known as Rafael de Nogales Méndez (October 14, 1877 in

San Cristóbal, Táchira San Cristóbal () is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of Táchira. It is located in a mountainous region of Western Venezuela. The city is situated above sea level in the northern Andes overlooking the Torbes River, from the Colombian ...

– July 10, 1937 in

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

) was a

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n soldier, adventurer and writer who served the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

during the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(1914–18). He travelled extensively and fought in many of the wars of his age.

Education and first conflicts

When he was a young man his father sent him to study in Europe. He attended Universities in Germany,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and Spain, and came to speak several languages fluently. Despite his education, Nogales felt more attracted to the military profession and he began to travel where the news of war took him. He took part in several conflicts in the last part of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th: he fought for the Spanish against the Americans in the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. In 1902 with the support of president Zelaya of Nicaragua, Nogales participated in a failed attempt to overthrow Venezuelan dictator Cipriano Castro involving an expedition aboard the schooner ''La Libertad''. The forces landed in La Guajira peninsula but were defeated by general Antonio Davila in Carazua as part of Revolución Libertadora of Venezuela. In 1904 participated in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

as a double agent. Additionally, he spent time in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

during the time of the gold rush there. In California he fought with the forces of Mexican revolutionary

Ricardo Flores Magón Cipriano Ricardo Flores Magón (; known as Ricardo Flores Magón; September 16, 1874 – November 21, 1922) was a Mexican anarchist and social reform activist. His brothers Enrique Flores Magón, Enrique and Jesús Flores Magón, Jesús were ...

and also worked as a cowboy in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. He returned to Venezuela in 1908, after the military coup of

Juan Vicente Gómez Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón (24 July 1857 – 17 December 1935) was a Venezuelan military general, politician and '' de facto'' ruler of Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935. He only officially served as president on three occasions d ...

that overthrew his enemy

Cipriano Castro José Cipriano Castro Ruiz (12 October 1858 – 4 December 1924) was a Venezuelan politician and Officer (armed forces), officer of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela, military who served as president of Venezuela, president from ...

. Nogales was appointed by General Gómez as president of

Apure State Apure State (, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. Its territory formed part of the provinces of Mérida (state), Mérida, Maracaibo, and Barinas (state), Barinas, in accordance with successive territorial ordinations ...

, however, he went into exile after making himself an enemy of the new president.

World War I

When

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

began, after unsuccessfully attempting to join a number of other European armies, he enlisted in the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

and was assigned to the Caucasus Front, where he reached the rank of major. He led

Ottoman Gendarmerie The Ottoman Gendarmerie (), also known as ''zaptı'' or ''subaşı'', was a security forces, security force and public order organization (a precursor to law enforcement) in the 19th-century Ottoman Empire. The first official gendarmerie organiza ...

troops into battle against Armenian insurgents during the Siege of Van, but asked to be relieved due to what he believed were ''"unjustified massacres of Christians"''. He believed that the massacres were committed by

Khalil Bey Khalil Sherif Pasha, transliterated variously as Halil Şerif Pasha (, 20 June 1831 – 12 January 1879), was an Ottoman-Egyptian statesman, diplomat and art collector, who lived during the Tanzimat period. His collection was described by T ...

, the Commander and Chief of the Expeditionary Army he volunteered to serve with. He later wrote a book describing his experiences with the Ottoman Army in World War I. In his book, de Nogales recounts the massacres of the Armenian population in Van during the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

and wrote: Nogales Méndez reported that the civil authorities found it preferable to murder at night with the help of local

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

. When visiting

Aghtamar Akdamar Island (), also known as Aghtamar () or Akhtamar (; ), is the second largest of the four main islands in Lake Van, in eastern Turkey. About 0.7 km2 in size, it is situated approximately 3 km from the shoreline. At the western end of the i ...

, an island in

Lake Van Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...

where the

Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross The Cathedral of the Holy Cross (, or ) on Akdamar Island, in Lake Van in eastern Turkey, is a medieval Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian Apostolic cathedral, built as a palatine church for the kings of Vaspurakan and later serving as the sea ...

is located, he notes that he uncovered the corpses of many priests. Nogales Méndez visited Diyarbakir on June 26, 1915 and spoke with

Mehmet Reşid Mehmed Reshid (; 8 February 1873 – 6 February 1919) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman politician and physician, official of the Committee of Union and Progress, and Wāli, governor of the Diyarbekir Vilayet (province) of the Ottoman Empire durin ...

, who was the governor of the province. During his time in Diyarbakir, he witnessed the massacres of the local Christian population of the province.
Profile at

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

According to his conversation with Reşid, the orders to massacre were sent from Interior Minister

Talat Pasha Mehmed Talât (1 September 187415 March 1921), commonly known as Talaat Pasha or Talat Pasha, was an Ottoman Young Turk activist, revolutionary, politician, and convicted war criminal who served as the leader of the Ottoman Empire from 191 ...

. Nogales Méndez recounts in his memoirs that Reşid mentioned to him that he received a telegram directly from Talat Pasha ordering him to ''"Burn-Destroy-Kill"''. After being transferred from the Caucasus, he saw action on the Sinai and Palestine Front. He fought in the Turkish lines during the entire war, and was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...

. On one occasion during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, he came face-to-face with Colonel

T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British Army officer, archaeologist, diplomat and writer known for his role during the Arab Revolt and Sinai and Palestine campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the First W ...

on the frontier. He and Lawrence looked at each other, then without speaking he and Lawrence parted with nothing to say. He was compared with T. E. Lawrence due to their works in Arabia despite their different uniforms.

Post-war years and death

After the war ended, he worked with the Nicaraguan revolutionary

Augusto César Sandino Augusto César Sandino (; 18 May 1895 21 February 1934), full name Augusto Nicolás Calderón Sandino, was a Nicaraguan revolutionary, founder of the militant group EDSN, and leader of a rebellion between 1927 and 1933 against the United Sta ...

. In London, Nogales wrote some books about his adventures around the world. In 1936, after the death of Gómez, Nogales Méndez returned to Venezuela and was sent as commissioner to Panama to study the army of that country. Nogales Méndez died in Panama City in 1937, age 59.

Books

Nogales Méndez wrote several books about his life experience. *''Cuatro años bajo la Media Luna'' (1925), English title: ''Four Years Beneath the Crescent'', about his experiences as an officer of the Ottoman Empire. The book includes details about the atrocities committed against the Armenian people by Turkish officials. *''El saqueo de Nicaragua'' (1928), English title: ''The Looting of Nicaragua'' (1928) *''Memorias de un Soldado de Fortuna'' (1932), English title: ''Memoirs of a Soldier of Fortune'' (1932) *''Silk Hat and Spurs'' (1934, original in English), with a prologue by Field Marshal

Edmund Allenby Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936) was a senior British Army Officer (armed forces), officer and imperial governor. He fought in the Second Boer ...

, who describes him as "a brave enemy, and now a trusty friend".''WAR ECHOES. Venezuelan's Turkish Reminiscences: Present Customs Minister Aided''
The Telegraph, Brisbane, 12 January 1934, p. 3

References

Bibliography

* De Nogales, Rafael. ''Four Years Beneath The Crescent.'' London: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1926. Most recently republished as:
Four Years Under the Crescent
' (Sterndale Classics (

Gomidas Institute The Gomidas Institute (GI; ) is an independent academic institution "dedicated to modern Armenian and regional studies." Its activities include research, publications and educational programmes. It publishes documents, monographs, memoirs and oth ...

)) * De Nogales, Rafael. ''Memoirs of a soldier of Fortune''. New York: Garden City Publishing Company, Inc., 1932. Recently republished in paperback. * McQuaid, Kim, The Real and Assumed Personalities of Famous Men: Rafael De Nogales, T.E. Lawrence. and the Birth of the Modern Era, 1914–1937, London. Gomidas Institute, 2010,

External links

* * . * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendez, Rafael de Nogales 1879 births 1936 deaths People from San Cristóbal, Táchira Venezuelan soldiers Ottoman Army officers Ottoman military personnel of World War I Spanish military personnel of the Spanish–American War Venezuelan people of World War I Venezuelan mercenaries Witnesses of the Armenian genocide Expatriates in the Ottoman Empire